Preceded by Seat established Preceded by John Simpson Preceded by Paul Roney Succeeded by Seat abolished | Succeeded by Joseph Hatchett Name Gerald Tjoflat Appointed by Gerald Ford Role Judge | |
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Education University of Virginia, Duke University, Duke University School of Law, University of Cincinnati | ||
2014 mizzou law commencement speaker judge gerald bard tjoflat
Gerald Bard Tjoflat (born December 6, 1929) is an American lawyer and federal judge. He is currently the longest serving federal appeals court judge still in active service, having chosen not to assume senior status despite eligibility.
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Biography
Tjoflat was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955, attaining the rank of corporal. Tjoflat earned his LL.B. from Duke University School of Law in 1957. He was in private practice in Jacksonville, Florida from 1957 to 1968 and served as a judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida in Jacksonville from 1968 to 1970.
President Richard M. Nixon nominated Tjoflat to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on October 7, 1970, to a new seat created by 84 Stat. 294. Confirmed by the Senate on October 13, 1970, he received commission three days later.
President Gerald Ford nominated Tjoflat to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on November 3, 1975, to a seat vacated by John Milton Bryan Simpson. Confirmed by the Senate on November 20, 1975, he received his commission the next day and began serving on the court on December 12, 1975. Tjoflat was reassigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on October 1, 1981, when that court was established. He served as chief judge from 1989 to 1996.
Tjoflat was elected to the American Law Institute in 1972 and became a life member in 1997.
In 1995, the Duke Law Journal at the Duke University School of Law published a tribute to Tjoflat that included articles by then-Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, retired Justices Lewis F. Powell, Jr. and Byron R. White, and Judge Edward R. Becker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, among others.